


True Family is sacred

by FluffyPancakes151



Series: Hogwarts Oneshots [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Based on a True Story, Clem being emotional, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Reminiscing, Sad, Unhappy, kinda deep, louis being supportive, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 17:02:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17532719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyPancakes151/pseuds/FluffyPancakes151
Summary: As long as you love and respect each other, you’re a family.  If your parents couldn’t protect you, respect you, couldn’t understand you, or even try to do so, then in a sense they weren’t truly your family. Just... people who brought you into the world and never bothered to fulfill their duties.





	True Family is sacred

Louis spotted her the moment he climbed through the portrait hole. She always sat in the same place, right next to the fire, her knees gathered beneath her and her left elbow resting comfortably on the armrest. Even if she had decided to switch spots, the dusty and worn looking muggle hat always separated her from the rest, like a giant neon arrow pointing down and saying ‘Clementine is here’. He inwardly chuckled at the thought. 

Slowly, he made his way towards her, weaving between small coffee tables and students, apologizing to a small first year girl when he accidentally knocked over her books and ignoring the way she blushed profusely when he handed them back to her. Clementine did not look up when he approached, she was much too focused on what looked like a slip of paper in her hands. Though she seemed to be staring at it from first glance, her gaze was distant and he could see that her thoughts were far away. 

“Hey.” Louis greeted softly, pulling up a chair to sit beside her, hoping that he would not startle her. He didn’t. Clementine had nerves of steel, nothing scared her, she left others terrified. Remembering the recent encounter with Draco Malfoy, the boy couldn’t hold back a snicker. That guy messed with the wrong person and definitely deserved the ass whooping he got. Damn, he wished he could’ve recorded that. It was at times like these that he really missed muggle technology. Clementine hummed softly in reply, still looking down at the object in her hands. Growing increasingly curious, Louis leaned over to stare as well. 

It was a picture of a family of four. A large man with short black hair and a rather long face, a rather plump woman with strikingly intelligent dark eyes, a teenage boy with brown hair and round glasses and finally a little girl, just around ten or eleven years old. Louis instantly noted with some surprise that that was Clementine. It wasn’t hard to guess. She had the same golden eyes, though much more innocent, and the trademark hat was already perched on her head. The photo was obviously a muggle one as the figures refused to budge from their spots. With some confusion, he noticed that besides Clem he did not recognize anyone else. “Who are they?” He asked gently as he leaned against the armrest as well, their heads now almost touching, though Clem didn’t seem to mind it.

“My family.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. Louis frowned. Weren’t Lee and AJ her family? He’d stopped by their house multiple times before and he’d never seen these people around. As if sensing his confusion, Clementine added, her voice just as quiet as the first time. “They’re dead.” 

“Oh..” For the first time in his life, Louis was at a loss of words. Clem had always been slightly reserved, but this.. I mean, what was he even supposed to say? ‘I’m sorry’? Or ‘That’s so sad’? Everything seemed suddenly so cliche in his head. Clementine looked up, her golden eyes so dull compared to their usual bright stare. His heart clenched in his chest. 

“You don’t have to say anything. Even I don’t know what to say.” She sighed, leaning back in the comfortable plush seat, the small photo still clutched in one hand. “I lost them a long time ago and I still don’t know how to feel.” He shot her a curious look tinged with concern. Weren’t people supposed to grieve when their family dies? It’s their family, y’know, the humans who brought them into the world, loved them unconditionally, cared for them, provided for them! He said nothing as Clem continued.

“I grew up being told that I was very lucky, y’know? Lucky to have a mother and a father and a roof over my head. Problem is, I never did feel very lucky.. Since I was little I was taught to give away everything to my brother. Leftovers, comic books, toys that I’d forgotten to play with for a day or two.. I never got anything in return and that was okay. I could be the good kid, the selfless person. Giving away my stuff didn’t seem that big of a deal. I was merely being a good little sister. I was showing my love to my family. But then I found myself giving away more and more.. When I was six, I gave away a stack of my favorite comics to my sibling. He claimed he needed them at school and he’d get a medal for some project or other. I believed him. But he never got that medal.”

Clementine took a shaky breath, fingers clenching around the old photo. “The years went on and suddenly my bro wouldn’t play with me anymore. He’d turn away or give me this resentful glance. And I.. I buried myself in books to hide the hurt.” Louis didn’t know what to say. Instead, he placed his hand on her shoulder, softly, carefully, so she could pull away if she felt uncomfortable. She didn’t. “It didn’t take long before my parents noticed my love for reading. They started praising me, buying me more and more books. Eventually they used me to shame him for being more interested in games rather than literature. I was proud, little kids are always proud like that when their parents are. And then I found myself in a locked cupboard.” She glanced at Louis who could only gape in reply. “I remember banging my fists against the closed door, crying my little heart out and begging to be let out. Now, as a result, I hate the dark and I fear enclosed spaces.” 

Clem sighed, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, the photo now laying on her knees. “I was only let out a few hours later, right before mom came home. I don’t remember if I told her though.. Eventually we moved to another place. I started to grow. My brother only got worse and worse. He began insulting me, saying that I would never amount to anything, that I’d never be able to get into a decent university. When he wasn’t feeling very talkative, he’d resort to shoving, blocking my way or hovering over me, often staring at my phone to see what I was doing or who I was texting. His aggression grew when I got my letter from Ilvermorny, telling me that I was a witch.” The girl smiled bitterly. “I remember I was thirteen and I had this astronomy project to finish. I was really tired and stressed. He blocked my path and just wouldn’t move, even when I asked. When I tried pushing past him, he grabbed me by the wrists. A fight ensued and my grandma came running.. I was the one who was blamed for the incident.” Louis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Clem was obviously being abused and she was blamed for it?! What the hell?!? 

“I always disliked the old hag. She’d insult my mom and dad whenever they were away and she’d insult me. My brother, however, was the perfect little angel. When my parents came home that night, she suggested taking me to a psychiatrist. Oh, she covered it with pretty words and such, but it was obvious that she thought I was crazy. Eventually I had enough. Told her everything I thought of her and she left. Happiest day of my life. But not for my mom though. Now that grandma was gone, she had to do the work around the house. She started piling stuff on me and I could tell that she was angry.. And I was never allowed to pick my own clothes y’know? Mother would just bring whatever she bought home and I’d wear that. But eventually I wanted to create my own style. She insulted every choice I made, ridiculed my ideas and put a lot of pressure on me to study harder. I think she was disappointed that I wouldn’t become an economist like her. The rift grew and grew until I couldn’t find common ground with her anymore.”

“Now my dad..” At that Clem smiled, truly smiled for the first time in the past twenty minutes. She lifted the hat off her head, turning it over in her hands, the photo now tucked away in her pocket, her fingertips brushing softly over the symbol on it. “He stood up for me, as much as he could. Gave me this hat when I was leaving for Ilvermorny for the first time. But eventually he stopped shielding me. My mother finally got into his head. Any remark, any complaint I made about my brother went ignored. At some point, he told me to stop acting like the victim. So I did. I started fighting back. And suddenly, I became the bad guy, the feared one, the troubled kid... I became angry. At myself and at my family. When I turned fourteen, I’d finally had enough. My brother turned twenty by that point and showed no signs of changing. I finally handed his ass to him, taught him to never, ever mess with me again. He was too much of a coward to even try to fight back, kind of funny really, grown man beaten down like that..” The smile had long disappeared from Clem’s face. “There was a big fight that day.. At some point they gathered some things and drove off, there was a concert that we were gonna see and I was left at home as punishment. I knew they were coming back and though I was upset, I went upstairs and pretended that I just didn’t have a huge fight with the people that, despite their faults, I loved. Except they never returned.” Louis reached out to pull her into a hug. Clementine did not resist him.

“Eventually I was adopted by this guy, Lee and we moved to London. At first I expected it’d be the same way with him, but it wasn’t. I was respected for the first time in my life. My interests, my thoughts - he paid attention, he cared to hear me out. When he found out I was a witch he was ecstatic. And seeing the joy on his face, I could only think back to the gloomy, unhappy expressions on my biological family’s faces when they were told the same news. The more time I spent with Lee, the more I began to think of him as my true family. When AJ came along.. I was so happy. I vowed to myself that I’d never be the way my brother was with me. I’d protect him, I’d love him, I would be there for him. And I just... I feel so guilty for being happy. To be joyful among foreign people to whom I’m not related, but by whom I’m more cared for than I ever was with my biological parents.”

Louis glanced down at her, watching those golden eyes shimmer with unshed tears. He wanted to wipe them away, to chase away the sorrow buried deep in her heart. “You deserve to be happy, Clem. Those people.. they made you feel miserable, unwanted. They did not deserve a person like you. And though I’m glad that you finally got away from them, I wish it’d been on different circumstances. I wouldn’t wish death on anyone.” Clementine glanced up at him as he reached out, pulling out the photo that she’d tucked away. “Remember them, but don’t feel like you could’ve changed what happened. Feel sad, but do not feel responsible for their actions towards you. In a way, because you refused to submit, to back down, they helped you become strong. Hell, you’re probably the strongest person I’ve ever met.” Sighing, he continued. “I think a true family consists of people who trust and respect each other. Where there is no pointless yelling or blaming or insulting. It doesn’t matter if you’re related or not. As long as you love and respect each other, you’re a family. If your parents couldn’t protect you, respect you, couldn’t understand you, or even try to do so, then in a sense they weren’t truly your family. Just... people who brought you into the world and never bothered to fulfill their duties.”

A small smile graced her lips and she reached out, twining their fingers together as she took one last glance at the worn photo. “Thanks, Louis.”

He smiled in return, curling his hand around hers. “You’re welcome.”


End file.
